Why Alan Ritchson Won't Consider A Reacher Movie: "It Would Probably Do A Disservice"

Alan Ritchson explains why he’s not interested in doing a Reacher movie. Prime Video’s breakaway action hit just wrapped up season 3, an adaptation of Lee Child’s book Persuader, pitting Jack against a haunting figure from his past and his gigantic henchman. With Reacher season 4 still to come, the idea has been floated that it’s time to take Ritchson’s hulking TV hero to the big screen, expanding the franchise’s scope beyond its current streaming platform.

But Ritchson himself is not among those calling for a Reacher movie, explaining that he thinks abandoning the 8-episode TV format in favor of one-off movies would “do a disservice to the books” (via Men’s Journal):

"I can't speak to movies. I enjoy the format that we've got so much, and it works so well where we do a book a season. I think eight episodes seem to be the perfect amount of time to break out a book. … I think it would probably do a disservice to the books. I don't know if I'd fight for films. I like being able to weave in what feels like two, three, or four films around Reacher throughout the year. I'm happy with the way things are."

What Ritchson’s Movie Remarks Mean For The Reacher Franchise

Ritchson’s Non-Reacher Movie Career Is Already Taking Off

Child’s Jack Reacher first hit the big-screen back in 2012, with no less a cinematic eminence than Tom Cruise in the role. Fans of the books scoffed at the relatively diminutive Cruise playing a character famous for his imposing physical dimensions, but his Jack Reacher proved reasonably successful, grossing $218 million on a budget of $60 million. Cruise returned for 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which grossed a modest $162 million.

Reacher has not yet revealed which book will be adapted for season 4

As much as hardcore Child fanatics disliked Cruise’s Reacher, that’s how high they have been on Ritchson’s interpretation of the character throughout Reacher’s Prime Video run. Ritchson’s own career has exploded thanks to the hit show, landing him in major movies like Fast X, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and the upcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger holiday-action-comedy team-up The Man with the Bag.

It sounds from his remarks as though Ritchson is content to keep doing Reacher on streaming, while continuing to pursue a parallel movie star path. Should things not work out for him on the big-screen, Ritchson will always have Reacher, whose adventures could seemingly go on for many more years (with the character likely never changing one single iota).

Our Take On Ritchson Not Wanting Reacher Movies

Cruise Will Remain The Only Big-Screen Reacher

Alan Ritchson smirking as Reacher and Cruise looking glum from the Jack Reacher movies.

Ritchson makes a good point in endorsing the 8-episode TV format as the ideal way to present Child’s novels. While it is conceivable that the books could be boiled down to movie length (indeed, it’s already been done, with Cruise’s films), such one-off Reacher adaptations would lose a lot of the character and build-up that are key elements of the series.

Amazon could always intervene, of course, and order a Reacher movie despite Ritchson’s commitment to keeping things as they are. Indeed, there’s been enough turmoil in the Amazon ranks lately that almost anything seems possible.

Olivier Ritchters as Paulie and Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in Reacher season 3

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Reacher season 3's ending not only features a much-awaited slam-bang fight but also shows a series of bittersweet moments that conclude Jack's journey

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While releasing a new Reacher movie, with Ritchson flexing his action hero muscles on the big-screen, might seem attractive to some at Amazon MGM Studios, there are strong arguments against the idea, some laid out by Ritchson himself. As things stand, it seems Cruise will remain the sole big-screen Jack Reacher, but in the world of content, one can never say never.

Source: Men’s Journal